Honky Tonk Masquerade
by Joe Ely
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Joe Ely bestography
Honky Tonk Masquerade is ranked 2nd best out of 18 albums by Joe Ely on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Joe Ely is Joe Ely which is ranked number 17393 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 64.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
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Honky Tonk Masquerade track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 73 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Honky Tonk Masquerade rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 1 hour ago)
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Honky Tonk Masquerade ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 37 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 07/28/2026 13:17 |  AAL2014 | 4,216 | 75/100 |
| ! | 01/18/2026 13:14 | Exist-en-ciel | 15,499 | 70/100 |
| ! | 01/02/2026 15:59 | platus | 5,874 | 74/100 |
| ! | 12/02/2025 15:18 | Jakor | 5,525 | 70/100 |
| ! | 05/24/2024 11:33 | ElstonGunnn | 921 | 82/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)
This album has a Bayesian average rating of 71.9/100, a mean average of 70.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 71.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 20.6.
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Honky Tonk Masquerade comments
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Classics here-- "Boxcars,""Fingernails,""Because the Wind"
Joe Ely's second studio album, released on RCA, continues his excellent blend of live roadhouse rock, complete with enough pedal steel and accordion to make you think it's either country or folk music, respectively.
Ely's formula is the same as his first record. Tight performances with a live and collaborative sound. As far as the material, Ely again brings in material from the two other members of the defunct Flatlanders trio. Butch Hancock provides the tongue-in-cheek Jericho and the forlorn Boxcars. Also here is Hancock's original "West Texas Waltzes," the title track off his debut record, also released in 1978 but on his own independent (ie out of print) label. And Jimmie Dale Gilmore contributes his seminal Tonight I'm Gonna Go Downtown, which is so sad that it could have been penned by the Hillbilly Shakespeare himself. But don't shed a year, Ely decides a Hank Williams cover fits nicely in this set and closes the LP with "Honky Tonkin."
And Ely provides some charming material of his own. Fingernails is hysterical.
For anyone looking for some soul and character in their country music, I can't recommend Ely's early albums enough.
For a major label record, this is fervently non-commercial and therefore unique for this era.
Essential.
A Side: Boxcars
B Side: Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown
simple messages are fun and light country and western and honky tonk
planetneutral 02/03/2018 14:14 | #207066
This is good. I'm a little ambivalent about "country-rock," but the quality here is evident.
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